“M” is for Miles, William Porcher (1822-1899)

“M” is for Miles, William Porcher (1822-1899). Educator, congressman. A native of Walterboro, Miles graduated from the College of Charleston and later taught mathematics there. In 1855 he was elected mayor of Charleston and reformed the city’s corrupt police department. Although he did not own enslaved persons, Miles considered it a right under the Constitution for others to own them. In 1857 he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, but with secession, he resigned his seat in 1860. In March 1861, as an aide-de-camp to General P.G.T. Beauregard, Miles designed the Confederate battle flag. In 1880 he was named president of the South Carolina College of Agriculture and Mechanics (the former South Carolina College). Two years later William Porcher Miles resigned his position and moved to Louisiana to manage properties owned by his wife’s family.